Iron Cross Tattoo in Santa Barbara California ROCKS!

I will be meeting with Pablo the owner of Iron Cross Tattoo this week. He seems like a really cool person and I am very excited to possibly rent some art studio space from him soon. I just wanted to let you guys know about Pablo and his art.

Welcome to Iron Cross Tattoo!
My name is Pablo and this is my story. The first cool tattoos I ever saw were on musicians. When I was younger I played in many bands and that gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of people. I met Johnny Thunders, Billy Rath and Jerry Nolan of the HeartBreakers. Their tattoos were the coolest, old traditional work done in England. I knew one day I would have tattoos too. Only problem was there were no shops in Spain. I got my first tattoo years later from this cool, English fellow named Gary Simpson... He's still around.. Hi Gary!!!!!! He did, of course, a cool old traditional piece in the style I had seen on the Heartbreakers many years before. He also taught me the rudiments of tattooing. Through him I met Phil from Northhampton, who sold me my first machine. After struggling by myself for a short while I followed the "advice" of the Tattoo Gods and embarked on a long trip to California. It was in Santa Barbara where I first met my future mentor and teacher, Freddy Negrete. I served a two year apprenticeship with Freddy at Rat-a-Tattoo and worked for him for four long, hard, but very fun Years... He taught me everything about tattooing, good and bad. Freddy was a real good teacher. Gracias Coyote...
As far as influences go, Freddy Negrete would be first as he is my all-time favorite tatto artist. I also admire the inkwork of Filip Leu...Corey Miller is also high on my list as well as Greg Irons and the Pope, Ed Hardy. Other non-tattoo related art which continues to influence my work to this day comes from Prof. SS Oberfuher Karl Diebitsch and Herr Paul Carsberg. These two gentlemen were responsible for some stunning military and political artwork done in Germany during the Third Reich period. You can enjoy some of their creations in our cyber-museum.
My favorite Stuff? Anything Black and Grey. My favorite artists? Freddy Negrete, Filip Leu, Geiger, Prof.Paul Casberg, Greg Irons, Karl Diebitsch, Gustave Dore, Durer, H.R. Geiger, and the skateboard art of Wes Humpston, aka Bulldog. Just a few names but they should give you an idea how eclectic my taste is.
Santa Barbara is a beautiful town on the South coast of California, well worth a visit for your next Tattoo...

Thanx for checking us out, Pablo